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NEW LONDON, 

A SEAPORT 

FOR THE NORTH AND WEST, 

AND 

OUTPORT OF NEW YORK: 

ITS GREAT — 

Commercial Advantages, 

CONVF.MPINl , AMPLE AND CHEAP WHARF ROOM, M ANUF AC I URING 

FACH.ITIES, ABUNDANT SUPPLY OF PURE WATER, 

HEALTHFULNESS, kC. 



JOHN R. BOLLES, 

SECRETARY OF THE BOARD OP TRADK. 



NEW LONDON: 

1'<)\VEU PRESS OF GEOROE E. 8TARH. 
1877. 



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I 



NEW LONDON. 



New London, the chief seaport of Connecticut, lies on the 
west side of the Thames River, three miles above its mouth. 
It is in Latitude 41"^ 21' N., Longitude 72*^ 12^ W. Popula- 
tion in 1870, over 10,000. 

From many points in and around the city views of surpass- 
ing beauty may be had of river, islands and sea, but it is 
especially as a Commercial port from which trade may radiate 
in all directions, that the attention of the public is now called 
to it. 

HOW IT DERIVED ITS NAME. 

In 1648 soon after its first settlement, the General Court 
perceiving it to be a "fit and convenient place for futvire 
trade, and in honor of the city they had left," gave the name 
of New London to the plantation, before called Pequot. We 
quote from the records of the State. 

"This Court considering that there hath been no place 
named in memory of the City of London, there being a new 
plantation in the jurisdiction of Connecticut, settled upon 
that fair river Mohegan, in the Pequot country, being an ex- 
cellent harbor and a fit and convenient place for future trade, 
it being also, the only place which the Englisli of these parts 
have possessed by conquest, and by a very just war upon that 
great and warlike people the Pequots, that therefore, they might 
thereby leave to posterity the memory of that renowned City 
of London from whence we had our transportation, have 
thought fit in honor to that famous City, to call the plantation 
New London." The name of the river was also changed to 
the Thames. 



2 

At the east end of Long Island Sound, and within a few 
miles of its entrance from the Ocean, New London is nearly 
equi-distant from New York and Boston, and by rail, about 
four hours from either city. With its noble harbor, numerous 
railroad connections and its magnificent granite wharf, just 
completed, the most commodious and convenient in the United 
States, it is believed to possess superior advantages for com- 
merce and trade on a large scale by land and water, and for 
manufactories of all kinds; while its charming scenery and 
genial climate invite to pleasant and healthful homes. 

THE HARBOR. 

In the Thames river, there may be found safe anchorage for 
vessels large or small, to a distance of ten miles above its 
mouth, though the harbor proper, is that portion of it which 
lies abreast the city. Its entrance from the sea is so easy, tliat 
with the aid of the U. S. Coast Survey Chart, the services of 
a pilot may be dispensed with even by vessels entering it for 
the first time. The Great Eastern could sail up several miles 
above the city. "Commodore Rodgers, who wintered here 
with his squadron in 1811, said it was the best ship harbor he 
had ever entered, except one, the exception was understood 
to be in Europe."* 

The New London Gazette of January iitb, 1826, gives the 
following account of the harbor : 

"Its harbor is universally allowed to be one of the best in 
the Union, and by many it is preferred to any in the United 
States. It is easy of entrance, has water sufficient for any 
ship, is free from strong tides and currents — has good anchor- 
age and is guarded by nature from the effect of any violent 
storm. It is said by many who have remained here during 
the winter with some of our frigates, that the expense of 
cables was nothing compared with almost any other port." 
The rise and fall of tide is but two and one-half feet. 

Generals Bernard and Totten in their report made to Con- 
gress, dated May 14th, 1826, said of it : — "As a port of easy 
access, having a great depth of water, never freezing and 
being easily defended, it is an excellent station for the Navy." 



*Mi88 Caulkins' History of New London. 



The difficulty and dangers attending the approach to New 
York, via Sandy Hook, in an easterly gale are well known, 
but these will be avoided when the work on the channel at 
Hell Gate is finished, and the Sound becomes a thorougfare 
for vessels which ply between Europe and that city. The 
harbor of New London, is very important to the vast Com- 
merce of Long Island Sound. More than fifty thousand ves- 
sels annually pass the Bartlett's Reef Light-ship, situated a 
few miles distant. There is no port on the Atlantic Coast, 
so desirable or convenient and none so much used as a harbor 
in threatening or stormy weather; then, vessels flock to it 
from all directions, till they are counted by hundreds. In the 
night season, their lights brightly burning, mirrored in every 
wave, they are seen as some enchanted city, illumined by fairy 
lamps. Again, the skies cleared, like sea birds they spread 
their white wings to the breeze and speed on their gladsome 
flight. Such scenes as these may have dawned upon the 
prophet's vision when he spake the blessing, — "Zebulon shall 
dwell at the haven of the sea, and he shall be for a haven of 
ships." The New York Yacht Fleet, many of them, make 
the waters of New London their winter retreat. 

CLIMATE. 

The climate of New London, modified by the water. Islands, 
or other causes, is not subject to the extremes of heat or cold 
which prevail in many places. This fact is verified by obser- 
vations taken seven times daily, at the United States Signal 
Station in this city. The mean temperature of each winter 
month for the last four years, is herewith given : 

1873-4. 1874-5. 1875-6. 1876-7. 

Dec. 33.8, Dec. 33.8, Dec. 32.7, Dec. 49.7, 

Jan. 33, Jan. 24.3, Jan. 34.1, Jan. 26.9, 

Feb. 29.9, Feb. 23.7, Feb. 23.6, Feb. 34.4, 

or 33.1 for the entire period. The minimum temperature of 
the air was i*^ below zero, Farenheit, and this occurred on the 
9th day of Feb. 1876, notably, one of the coldest winters on 
record. At no other time did the mercury fall to zero. The 
mean range of the extremes of temperature for these four 



winters was but 15'^, showing a very equable state of the 
atmospliere. The mean temperature of the summer months 
of the years 1874-75-76, was respectively, 68.2, 68.2 and 70.7, 
the last, an unusually hot summer. The highest point to 
which the mercury rose during the summer months, was in 
1874 to 87* in 1875 to 88^^, in 1876 to 93"=' . The mean tem- 
perature of the years 1874-75-76, was respectively 48.4, 47.3, 
49.7, averaging about 48.5. The Isothermal line corresponds 
with that of Leavenworth, Indianapolis, and Pittsburg, 
in more southern latitudes. 

HEALTHFULNESS. 

New London has ever been deemed a remarkably healthly 
place. Numerous instances of longevity are found here. A 
lady recently celebrated her hundredth birthday in the pres- 
ence of her children, several of whom were more than seventy, 
and two more than eighty years of age, and cases are not rare 
of persons approaching the age of one hundred years. A 
matron lively and in good health, whose age is not positively 
known, is now living here with her descendents of the fifth 
generation. New London is noted for the purity of its 
atmosphere, the absence of all foul oders; its situation being 
elevated and the natural drainage complete. It is not only 
non-malarial, no case of intermittent fever having ever been 
known to originate in this town — not even during the past 
few years, when they have prevailed in parts of the state here- 
tofore exempt from them, — but it is anti-malarial ; persons 
suffering from Miasmatic afifectionscontracted in other places, 
resort here for the beneficial influence of the climate, and 
rapidly recover; often without the aid of medicine. It is 
notably free from Zymotic fevers, as Typhoid, and others of 
like nature, and the diseases of infancy and childhood incident 
to the summer season, while the general salubrity of the air is 
such as to sustain vitality and repel disease. 

Much more might be truthfully told in regard to the health- 
fulness of New London. The celebrated traveller, the Baron 
Von Humboldt, is quoted as saying, that "the portion of coun- 
try lying between Narragansett Bay and Connecticut River, 
was the healthiest in the world," and it is certain that the 



5 

sturdiest and most vvarelike tribe of Indians, (the Pequots) 
dominated in this region. In 1862, a "Board of Officers" 
acting under the authority of Congress, to select a site for a 
National Navy Yard, and who reported in favor of the Thames 
River, said in their report, "there is probably not a healthier 
place in the United States than New London, or one where 
more comfort is to be found." 

It will be remembered that Admiral Silas H. Stringham, 
Professor A. D. Bache, and Captain W. P. S. Sanger, Chief 
Engineer of the Navy Department, and other officers of note, 
constituted that board; and now by reason of an abundant 
supply of the purest fresh water recently brought to the city, 
from a lake fed by living springs, the conditions of health 
are even more fully met. 

RAILROADS. 

Apart from the Shore Line, leading to New Haven and New 
York, and the Stonington and Providence, leading to Provi- 
dence and Boston and eastward ; by means of the New Lon- 
don Northern and Central Vermont Roads, with their various 
connections, (see Chart) New London is in direct and easy 
communication with a large portion of New England, the 
Canadas, and the North Western and Western States, and 
freight from New York, brought here by propellers and steam- 
boats in large quantities, passes over these lines to the points 
named. Goods are also shipped by this route to St. Louis, 
and even to San Francisco, and perhaps the not distant future, 
will justify the remark sometimes made, that the proper ter- 
mini of the Great American Trans-continental Railroad are 
New London, on the Atlantic and San Francisco, on the 
Pacific, the two grand harbors of the United States, in the spa- 
cious waters of which, can be found accommodation for th6 
commercial marine of Europe on the one hand, and of Asia 
on the other. 

Sealed cars daily leave New London by the Northern Road, 
en route through Canada to Port Huron, with merchandise to 
be distributed in the States, from that point. Also from 
Canada, sealed cars pass over this bonded line to New London. 

By the Boston and Albany Road, which connects with the 



6 

Northern, at Palmer, Mass, Albany is brofight 20 miles nearer 
to New London than to Boston, and when the projected road 
from Stafford to Springfield is built, the distance will be short- 
ened 8 miles. By the route through the Hoosac Tunnel, New 
London is nearer to Troy than Boston is, and freight, it is 
said,* "can actually be brought all the way from the west, to 
New York city, via. New London, cheaper than by the New 
York Central, and of course much cheaper to New London 
than New York." 

With the great wharf now ready for use, which links its Rail- 
roads traversing to the Lakes and beyond, to its harbor and 
superior shipping facilities, the prophecies of the past, as to 
the commercial status of New London, seem about to be 
fulfilled, and the manifest intent of nature realized. 

OCEAN STEAMERS. 

The proprietors of the Inman Line of Ocean Steamers vis- 
ited New London a few years since, with the view of making 
it a terminus for their boats, especially in the winter season. 
But the wharf accommodations were not then suitable, and 
the project fell through for the time. By the building of the 
new wharf this difficulty is now obviated. On the whole 
length of this dock tracks are laid, by which grain or other 
merchandise may be brought to storehouses built on the 
wharf, or direct to vessels receiving freight. The same advan- 
tage would be had in case of goods brought here by water for 
distribution over the various lines of roads diverging from 
this point. There would be no expense for cartage in either 
case. This advantage would be still more conspicious in the 
case of bonded warehouses which could be constructed on the 
wharf for the storage of imported goods, the expense of cart- 
ing which from landing to warehouse, and from warehouse 
to the place of shipment, is often greater than the cost of 
transportation for hundreds of miles by rail or water. Mer- 
chandise stored here, might be sold by sample from the im- 
porters counting house in New York, and sent to any point of 
destination required. This could be done with a saving in 
many respects ; and what better point can be found for the 



♦Commercial Note in New York Tribune, Feb. 24th, 1877.. 



embarkation of passengers coming from all points of the 
country than New London ? 

Much might be said in favor of a line of Steamships running 
from Europe direct to this port, whether conveying passengers 
or freight. Port regulations are simple and expeditious. 
Freight would find ready means of transportation by rail or 
steam vessel, to all parts ; and the cost of sending it to New 
York, if consigned to that port, would be small, compared 
with the many advantages which New London offers to a line 
of Ocean Steamers running to that place. 

After leaving her passengers and freight at New London, if 
under charter to load at New York, the passage would be safe 
and easy upon an inland sea, over which passengers in greater 
number, and more freight, are carried, than over any like ex- 
panse of water, the British Channel excepted, in the whole 
world. Most ()( the ocean traffic between Europe and New 
York will soon, coming and going, pass the Mouth of New 
London Harbor. As New York grows, and its business 
expands, the value to that city of a convenient port such 
as New London will be clearly seen, and the North-West 
should be notified that their connection with Europe and the 
maratime world, best lies through the port of New London. 

For the shipment of grain abroad, New London scarcely 
has its peer. Its convenient relation to the grain growing 
territory of the west, small port charges of every kind, ease 
of delivery, less cost of Insurance, &c., distinctly point it out 
as "a fit and convenient place for future trade" in this respect, 
the sea port of the North and West, as well as out port of New 
York, where much of the business of that city may be trans- 
acted with convenience and profit, and because of the different 
lines of road leading to it, prices will be kept down by com- 
petition, and any great railroad monopoly prevented. An 
article in the JVeic York Maritime Register, May 30th, 1877, sets 
some of these matters in so clear a light, it is here given to 
the reader. 

"new LONDON, AN OUTPORT OF NEW YORK." 



*' New London is now talked of as an important out port, 



8 

which should be made tributary to the business and commerce 
of this city. The harbor is the best on the Atlantic coast, easy 
of access, never freezing, with water to float the largest ship 
in the world. It has a clear, straight entrance from the ocean, 
so that the services of a pilot are often dispensed witli, even 
by vessels from foreign ports, the coast survey chart being a 
sufficient guide. 

Good Harbors — Newport, Gardiner's Bay and others skirt 
its approaches, making its entrance doubly safe. New Lon- 
don is loo miles nearer to Liverpool than New York will be, 
when the channel of Hell Gate is opened to large vessels, and 
about 150 miles nearer than via Sandy Hook. Its superior 
commercial advantages are coming to be better understood. 
While only about four hours distant from New York and 
Boston by rail, the New London Northern and Central Ver- 
mont roads with their tributaries connect it with a large por- 
tion of New England, Canada, and the North Western States 
as the most favorable point for the delivery of their products 
at tide water, and also for the return. of merchandise to them. 
New London is nearer to Albany and the West than Boston, 
with the advantage also of a less expensive Road, and better 
grade, and freight is daily passing in large quantities from 
New York via New London to its Western destination, adding 
anotlier to the many avenues of trade with this city. For the 
shipment of Grain to foreign markets it is believed that there 
is no port north of Baltimore that can equal New London, 
with its present Railroad and terminal facilities. Its new and 
magnificent wharf, covering five or six acres of ground, with 
more than half a mile of water front, capable of receiving the 
largest steamers, is now offered to the commerce of the world. 
The Reading Railroad Co., have commenced running their 
large steamers to it, freighted with coal for the interior, which 
is transferred directly to the cars, or stored for future distrib- 
ution. The same could be done with cotton or other mer- 
chandise; and goods from foreign ports might be landed 
here, placed in bonded warehouses, or stf)rehouses, directly 
from the vessel, and transferred to cars for transportation by 
land, or to propellers, by water, avoiding the expense of 
cartage altogether. The benefits of New London harbor 



9 

as an auxiliary port, a late writer in the New York Tribime^ 
recounts thus: — 'Cheap and ample wharf room, with deep 
water at the terminus of the New London Northern Railroad; 
little or no expense for pilotage, towage, etc. ; port charges 
comparatively small ; shorter distance to Europe; less cost of 
insurance on vessels and their cargoes; goods brought from 
the interior transferable from the cars to vessels direct or 
placed in storehouses on the wharf for shipment; the port the 
best point tor distribution of a large part of the coal, cotton, 
and other merchandise used in New England. Merchants in 
New York sell their goods by sample. These could be deliv- 
ered from a bonded warehouse at New London as well as from 
New York, with no expense of cartage, and, so far as New 
England and the North-Western States are concerned, with a 
saving of freight. The business would still be done in New 
York, and the profits of it belong to that city.' And he might 
have added to the list — the avoidance of Custom House delays, 
annoyance, &c. New York by availing itself of the advant- 
ages offered to it, will make them its own." 
New York, May 1877. 

The N. Y. G7-aphic of Aug. 15th, 1877, speaks thus of New 
London as a terminus for Ocean Steamers: "It has one of 
the finest harbors in the world, and in this respect, is pre- 
eminently ahead of any port on the Atlantic. Allowing that 
the customs and other government charges are the same, the 
cost of wharfage and storage will be more than one-half 
reduced, and vessels can be refitted and unloaded at one-third 
less cost." 

The Norwich and Worcester Railroad which brings freight 
and passengers from Portland and Bangor direct, by way of 
Nashua, and also from Boston and Worcester and intermedi- 
ate towns, and from farther north and east, to be transported 
to New York, virtually has its terminus at New London. It 
there connects with a line of large steamboats owned by 
the Norwich and New York Transportation Company, daily 
plying between New York and this city. 

The Northern Road also connects at Willimantic with the 
Hartford, Providence and Fishkill road, the New York and 
New England, formerly the Boston and Erie, and with the 



10 

New York and Boston Air Line, and at Barrett's Junction, 
four miles north of Palmer, with the Springfield, Athol and 
North Eastern Railroad. At Miller's Falls connection is 
made with the Tunnel line, at South Vernon with the Ashue- 
lot for Keene and the Cheshire road, and at Brattleboro with 
the Vermont Valley road, which at Bellows Falls connects 
with the Central Vermont and the system of roads that to- 
gether with the New London Northern, are leased by the 
Central Vermont road. 

New London is thus in direct communication with all parts 
of Vermont, New Hampshire, Canada, and the West, with 
connection also on the Lakes by Boats owned by the Central 
Vermont Railroad. Lumber is now brought from Michigan, 
the great lumber growing region, to this port, in large quan- 
tities. At New London there is a running arrangement with 
the New York Steamboats for both passengers and freight. 
The Northern road also owns a line of Propellers for the 
transportation of freight alone. 

From Ogdensburg, distant ii8 miles from the Central Ver- 
mont road, freight can be carried all the way by water to any 
point on the Lakes. Thus, Michigan and Minnesota are sep- 
arated from us by only a narrow strip of land. The Lakes to 
the Sea, the Sea to the Lakes send greeting. Commerce, ag- 
riculture, and every industrial art clasp hands in token of 
mutual relationship and dependence. If ease of communica- 
tion with a great and productive country ; if adequate termi- 
nal facilities, and a harbor opening them to the world, are 
among the chief requisites; if beauty of situation, a genial 
climate, convenient and central position, are to be desired, 
New London having all these and more, pure air and abund- 
ant supply of pure water, may justly aspire to be what nature 
seems to have designed it, a foremost commercial city. 

ITS COMMERCE, PAST AND PRESENT, 

New London being so favorably situated on the water, the 
attention of its people has been chiefly devoted to maratime 
pursuits. It was noted at an early day for building large 
ships. Douglass in his history of the British settlements, 
written before 1750, says, " In Connecticut are eight conven- 



11 

ient shipping ports, tor small craft, but all masters enter and 
clear at the port of New London, a good harbor, three miles 
within land, and deep water. Here they build large ships." 
The object of this pamphlet is not so much to give a history 
of New London as to call attention to its present and future 
capabilities. A brief glance at the past however may not be 
inappropriate here. Prior to the Revolution, "flour, lumber 
and provender, were exported to Gibralter, the Spanish ports 
on the Mediteranean and to Barbary." From the marine 
list published in the New London Gazette^ the following state- 
ment is taken of the shipping employed in the European and 
West India trade sailing from this port and chiefly owned in 
this district, from Jan. ist, 1785 to Jan. ist, 1790, viz; 62 brigs, 
36 schooners, and several sloops. The number of horses and 
cattle exported during these years was 27,809, or a yearly 
shipment of 6,952. About this time and afterwards several 
whaling vessels were fitted out for short voyages, and the 
business increased until '"the embargo, non-intercourse, and 
the war following closely upon each other, entirely broke up 
this as well as every other species of commerce," Soon after 
the war with England the West India business was revived 
and carried on for several years ; the whaling business, also, 
was commenced anew in 1819, by Thomas W. Williams, and 
others, and was conducted with so much vigor and success 
that New London became, with the exception ot New Bed- 
ford, the largest whaling port in the United States. In 1846 
71 ships and barks, one brig and six schooners were engaged 
in this trade with a capital of about $2,000,000. Tonnage, 
26,200. Seventy thousand four hundred and twenty-two bar- 
rels of whale and sperm oil were brought into this port in 
185 1, valued at $1,109,410. "In 1847 the number of vessels 
employed from New London in freighting, coasting and home 
fisheries, was 171, viz: nine ships and barks and three brigs, 
fifty-six schooners, one hundred and three sloops and smacks; 
whole burden 1 2,300 tons."* The number of seamen employed 
in the whale fishery and domestic trade was about 3,000. 
Since that time with some fluctuations the whaling business 



*From statistics furnished tlie harbor and river Convention at Chicago, in Dec, 1847, by 
Tho8. W. Williams. 



12 

has been on the decline, though with a slight revival at the 
present time. The scarcety of whales in the sea, and the plen- 
tiful supply of oil from the earth have conspired to lessen 
this branch of business, but during this time the seal fishery 
has been prosecuted with success. Capt. Eb^n. Morgan, a 
distinguished whaling captain from New London, was the 
first to raise the American flag on the Alaska Seal Islands af- 
ter their session by Russia to the United States, and parties in 
this city hold a large interest in the Alaska Commercial Com- 
pany which has a lease of these Islands. 

The West India trade so extensively carried on at a former 
time from this place, has been revived within a few years by 
J. M. Huntington & Co., who have a Bonded Warehouse on 
their, wharf here. Their goods are sold in New York and 
Boston, and are sent over the various lines of roads through- 
out New England. The duty paid by this firm to the govern- 
ment, on this class of importations, is about $90,000 yearly 

The number of vessels now employed in the foreign trade, 
coasting, &c., is 73, and in the whale, seal, and home fishery, 
119. 

This port has been the head-quarters of the business of the 
Phoenix Guano Co., the charters for which are 7,000 tons per 
annum. Cargoes of this guano have been sold in our south- 
ern cities, and large quantities have been sent to North 
German ports. 

While New London is surpassed only by Boston and Glou- 
cester in the number of fishermen employed, or the amount of 
fish caught in its waters, it is superior to them, in point of 
variety. Blue-fish are taken in large quantities here, and 
black fish, sometimes weighing over twenty pounds each, 
striped bass, salmon, Spanish mackerel, sea trout, sword fish, 
&c. Connecticut river shad are proverbially the best in the 
United States. These and many other varieties are shipped 
by water and rail from our markets to almost every part ot the 
country, even to New Orleans, Wisconsin, Michigan, Canada, 
&c. 

MANUFACTORIES, 

New London has not hitherto been distinguished for the 
number and extent of its manufacturing establishments. The 



13 

attention of its citizens has been turned in other directions, 
and they have invested liberally in government and other 
bonds. Enough has not been done to foster local enterprises, 
the sure foundation of the growth of any place. With nat- 
ural advantages nc^t excelled, the wonder is that New London 
has not become more of a manufacturing town. " It is the 
duty of a city to prosper," said the late Dr. Bushnell, whose 
memorial is written less vividly in the grand Park at Hart- 
ford, bearing his name, than in the hearts of thousands who 
have drawn life and inspiration from his vigorous pen. If 
it is the duty of a city to prosper, it is a duty to seek out 
sources of thrift and to encourage industry. "Employment 
for every person" should be the motto of every place. 

There are however several establishments in New London 
where goods in great variety are made and of a first-class 
character. Foremost among these is the Wilson Manufactur- 
ing Company, founded by Increase Wilson, which has main- 
tained a high reputation for fifty years. The celebrated Wilson 
Coffee Mill, and an immense assortment of other articles in 
the general hardware line are made by them. Jack Screws, 
Turning Lathes, Solid Box Vises, brass, iron and composition 
works, &c. This company are the leading manufacturers of 
anti-friction roller bushings. Their trade in these and other 
articles extends all the way from Canada to California. They 
also manufacture the " People's Mower," used in the Eastern 
States and recently in Missouri. The largest tackle blocks 
ever constructed in the United States, if not in the world, 
were made at this establishment for the Cape Ann Granite 
Company, to lift a block of granite weighing one hundred 
and ten tons. 

The Albertson & Douglass Machine Company which com- 
menced business in 1840, was organized as a joint stock cor- 
poration in 1853. They manufacture on a large scale Marine, 
Stationary and Portable Steam Engines and Boilers, also. 
Mill and Plantation Machinery, Circular Saw Mills and Gear- 
ing, Cotton and Hay Presses, for hand, horse and steam pow- 
er. Elevators and Hoisting Machines, for hotels, stores, mines, 
quarries, &c. They have also extensive facilities for the ma- 
king of Cotton Gins and Cotton Gin Materials. The manu- 



14 

facture of Composition Roller Bushings of superior quality 
is made a specialty. Their goods are sold in all parts of the 
United States and are also shipped to foreign ports. The 
company have one of the most extensive and best equipped 
machine, foundry and boiler establishments in the United 
States, and make the building of steam machinery, and the 
repairing of steam vessels a specialty. 

The Brown Cotton Gin Company, located in New London, 
devote their attention to the manufacture of The Brown Cot- 
ton Gin, Gin Feeders and Condensers, and are also largely 
engaged in the manufacture of materials used in the construc- 
tion of cotton gins generally. The gins and the attachments 
turned out by this company are of the best quality, and have 
taken the highest premium not only at the Centennial but at 
various state and county fairs, and are now sold and used ex- 
tensively in every cotton growing state, and many of them 
are exported to Brazil and elsewhere. This is one of the old- 
est cotton gin establishments in the country. 

The New London Steam Woolen Mill manufactures Repel- 
lents, Ladies Cloth, and Cassimeres. It has five sets of cards, 
eight jacks, two hundred and forty spindles each, thirty broad 
looms, and employs seventy-five to one hundred hands, work- 
ing twelve hundred pounds of California wool, daily. 

C. D. Boss & Son's Cracker and Biscuit Works, is one of 
the oldest and largest factories of the kind in the country. 
For over one hundred years it has continued in successful 
operation, with but few changes in ownership. C. D. Boss is 
the veteran cracker manufacturer in New England, and has 
had an unbroken business success of forty-six years. The 
capacity of the works is seventy-five barrels of flour in ten 
hours in the leading staple crackers which they make a speci- 
alty. At an early day their goods took high rank for quality, 
which reputation has ever been fully sustained. Their goods 
are widely known and appreciated. The value of the products 
of the business for 1876, amounted to nearly two hundred 
thousand dollars. They give employment to thirty hands. 

H. A. Brown & Co., manufacture Canned Goods of every 
description. Preserves, Jellies, Catsups, &c. They employ 
some two hundred hands, and have about two hundred acres 



15 

of ground under cultivation, in tomatoes, &c. Their goods 
stand as high as any in the market, and are sold throughout 
the United States, and exported to Russia, England, France 
and Germany. 

Wm. L. Warner & Son have a large Tannery, where they 
make various kinds of leather, also belting and such articles 
as are wanted for factory purposes. 

There are also Sewing Silk, Shirt, Carriage, Nail, and other 
factories. 

The proper claims of New London for manufacturing pur- 
poses, briefly stated, are, a healthy and pleasant location, with 
a supply of pure fresh water to an unlimited extent, from an 
elevation that affords sufficient power for light machinery. 
This power is already successfully employed, — convenient 
distance from New York, and ready means of communication 
with that city and other parts. Machinery is now run princi- 
pally by steam, the saving of freight in the article of coal 
alone would amount to a large sum in the course of a year, 
giving to New London a great advantage in this respect over 
an inland town. The same would be true of the transporta- 
tion of the raw material and manufactured goods, and there 
are a plenty of situations along the river side and near the 
railroad, where coal and other material would be taken di- 
rectly to the establishment from the vessel, and shipped with 
like ease, on vessels or cars. Land and rents may be had 
at moderate prices. These and other facilities which New 
London has, are important, and will be so regarded by the 
shrewd mechanic about to start an establishment for himself, 
and by those seeking a change of location. 

NAVY YARD. 

The government has established a Navy Yard on the east 
side of the Thames River, about three miles above the city, 
with a shore front of one mile, and ample depth of water to 
float the largest vessel ever built, a most important consider- 
ation when the future of our navy is taken into account. We 
build not for a day or a year, but for coming time; and it 
should be known that neither Philadelphia, which has but i8 



16 

feet in some parts of the Delaware, as shown by the U. S. 
coast survey chart, or New York which has but 22 feet on the 
bar at mean low tide, or Gosport, or Charlestown, has depth 
of water for a first-class British, French or Spanish man of 
war.* New London has more than enough to float the largest 
of them at low tide. It is a port also, which may be easily 
reached by a fleet escaping from a superior force of the 
enemy, or if disabled, for repairs. 

From an early period of our country's history it has been 
commended by eminent naval officers as the most desirable 
harbor in the United States for a great national Navy Yard 
and naval depot. f Commodore Decatur who with his fleet 
passed the winter of 1812-13, in the Thames River, three miles 
above the present yard, said in a letter to Capt. George W. 
Rodgers, (afterwards Commodore,) "I wish there might be a 
Navy Yard at New London, for I know of no harbor in the 
United States possessing so many advantages." The like fa- 
vorable opinion has also been expressed by naval officers of 
other nations who have visited this place, as the following 
from the Norwich Bulletin, Oct. 3rd, 1866, will show. 

"New London Harbor. — His Imperial Majesty's flag ship 
La Themis, drawing twenty-four feet of water, together with 
other vessels of the French fleet, have just left New London 
harbor, where they have been lying for several weeks. It is 
reported that they will make their headquarters there next 
summer. The oflScers of the fleet, we understand, have re- 
peatedly expressed the opinion that for the resort of the ves- 
sels of their squadron, New London aff"ords the best harbor 
on our coast. Admiral Baron Didolot, Admiral of the French 
fleet in the American waters, who was in command of the 
fleet at New London, is known to have said, ' If this port were 
in France it would be made the principal naval station of that 
government.' " 

*" If we are going to compete with Prance and England for a sea-going iron-clad fleet, we 
must have vessels to draw from twenty-four to twenty-six feet of water at least. The na- 
val ports of France and England are not limited in draft of water, and their docks are now 
being altered and new ones constructed to receive these iron-clad vessels which draw from 
twenty-flve to twenty-seven feet."— Donald M'Kat, in 1863. 

tSee Report of House Naval Committee, 38th Congress, 1st Session, May l&th, 18&4, No. 



17 

The board of officers appointed under an act of Congress 
in 1862, Admiral Silas H. Stringham, chairman, to examine 
various sites, and report thereon, made choice of New Lon- 
don as " possessing greater advantages for a Navy Yard and 
naval depot than any other site examined by them," and sub- 
sequently in 1864, the House Committee on Naval Affairs to 
whom the question was again referred, Hon. Alexander H. 
Rice, chairman, after a careful investigation of the whole sub- 
ject and a visit to the site, fully concurred with the report of 
the board of officers in favor of New London Harbor, and 
recommended " the establishment of a Navy Yard thereat." 

As showing the importance of this location in connection 
with the defence of the waters and commerce of Long Island 
Sound, and of the city of New York itself from naval attack 
on the east, an extract from said committee's report is here 
given : 

After speaking of the Race or eastern entrance of Long Is- 
land Sound, the committee say, "New London, lying within 
a half hour's steaming, is the natural key and strategic pro- 
tection to this gate-way, and it is the judgment of the high- 
est military and naval authorities, that a rendezvous of iron- 
clads, to put to sea at short notice, together with some slight 
fortifications at the Race itself, would be a complete defence 
to the eastern approach to New York, and the whole coast line 
of Connecticut. An enemy's fleet once within this gate-way 
and safe in Long Island sound — a great man-of-war's harbor 
of itself — would not only have the best natural roadstead on 
this continent from which to sally forth to cut up our com- 
merce and lay our cities under contribution, but would im- 
peril the commercial metropolis of the country. 

Through Long Island Sound is carried, by various means 
of transportation, the raw material to the New England spin- 
dles, much of which is returned in the manufactured articles 
to New York for domestic and foreign markets. So large has 
this commerce become, that more than fifty thousand vessels 
have passed New London light-boat, off the mouth of the 
harbor, in a single year, calling forth the memorable remark 
of Daniel Webster, 'that the importance of this Mediterranean 
of the western hemisphere would justify its being lighted up 
like a ball-room.' 



18 

These have seemed very important considerations to your 
committee; and if, by the selection of a site which unites so 
many essential advantages of its own, commercial interests so 
vast and so extended also derive incidental protection, the 
establishment of the proposed yard at this point would appear 
to raise the question to one of national importance and neces- 
sity." 

At the invitation of Congress by resolution passed, March 
2oth, 1867, the State of Connecticut conveyed by deed of gift, 
the site to the United States for naval purposes, which was 
duly accepted, and appropriations made for its improvement. 
A wharf has been built, having 1,600 feet of water front. At 
this wharf some of the largest vessels in our navy have lain 
and are now ^yi^^g- Several acres have been graded, store- 
houses and other buildings erected, and it is already a station 
of use and convenience to the navy.* 

The site contains about 100 acres, mostly a level plain, at 
convenient elevation above tide water. On a portion of 
it, are stratified ledges of good granite, easily worked, for 
sea-walls, or other purposes. The Board of Civil Engineers, 
who in 1875, prepared a plan of the yard, which has been 
adopted by the government in their report, recognize this as 
a great advantage. 

The water at the station is a mixture of salt and fresh, in 
about equal proportions, that quality which science and exper- 
iment have shown to be best adapted to the docking and pre- 
servation of timber ;f and being clear, little or no dredging 
will be needed. 

*"I have heretofore spoken of the claims of the New London station upon the liberality of 
Congress. Some of these are to be found in a good harbor, easy of access from all direc- 
tions, and conveniently situated between two great commercial cities; an industrious and 
ingenious people whose labor is skillful and cheap, and a site for the station already acquir- 
ed through the liberality of the State, to the improvement of which, the Government seems 
to be virtually pledged. It is already a station of convenience to the service, and with 
moderate expenditure, its use could be largely increased."— ^epori of Secretai-y of tlie 
Navy, 1872. 

t "In reply to your inquiry as to the quality of water best adapted for docking and sea- 
soning ship-timber, &c., I will state what is the practice of the French Government, whose 
dock yards and arsenals I have lately visited, and who are in advance of every other nation 
in the application of scientific knowledge to naval matters. The stock of timber kept on 
hand in the French arsenals is very large and of the finest quality. At Toulon, alone, about 
£5,000 tons of the choicest oak timber is kept in salt water, mixed with fresh, about half 
and half. The water is brought into the enclosed docks from reservoirs in the adjacent 
mountains." * * Dwiald McKay^s letter to John R. BoUes, dated, Boston, Dec. \Uh, 1863. 



19 

The yard is located six or seven miles above the mouth of 
the harbor, secure from the attack of an enemy. It is the 
concurrent testimony of military men "that no harbor in the 
United States is more susceptible of defence than that of 
New London." * 

The site selected by the government on the Thames, in the 
opinion of the best judges, has every requisite for a first-class 
naval establishment. 

In view of the capacity and excellence of the harbor, its 
freedom from ice, the great depth of its waters, the facility of 
access to it from every point, by land and sea, with good 
foundations to build upon; a climate, comparatively cool in 
summer and warm in winter, situated in the midst of a popu- 
lation of hardy seamenf and industrious mechanics, skilled in 
all branches of naval architecture^ impregnable to a foe — 
if this may be said of any place, — with high and healthful 
localities for dwellings, convenient distance from New York, 
where supplies of all kinds may be quickly obtained, and 
also, as guarding with ever wakeful eye the waters of Long 
Island Sound, its commerce, cities and coasts, and the great 
cities of New York and Brooklyn from naval attack ; these 
and other natural and incidental advantages give to it a value 
and importance for a Navy Yard and Naval Depot, second to 
none in the world. 

Commodore D. M, Fairfax, an officer of high standing, is 
Commandant of the yard. 

fisher's island. 

Facing the harbor of New London, on the south-east, as 
if placed there to receive the first rude shock of the ocean, 
and ward oflF the fury of its waves, stretches Fisher's Island, 

*Eeport of Committee on Naval AflE«irs. 

tCapt. Moses Rogers, commander, and his brother-in-law, Capt. Stevens Rogers, sailing- 
master of the steamship Savannah, both natives of New London, were the first to navigate 
a steam vessel across the Atlantic. 

JAt New London and within a radius of six miles of it, there have been built in the last 
thirty years, vessels of various sizes and descriptions, many more in number and tonnage, 
than on all the coast from Boston to New York during that time. Three schooners and 
four steamers have been built at New London the past year, but it is at Mystic, in the ad- 
joining town of Groton that the great ship yards are located. Vessels built there have made 
the quickest passage from New York to San Francisco, 



20 

nine miles in extent, gallantly saying to the sea, " hitherto 
shalt thou come, and no further, and here shall thy proud 
waves be stayed." The Island which was the property of John 
Winthrop, the first Governor of the State of Connecticut, and 
remained in the Winthrop family two centuries, has lately 
passed into other hands, and it is now the intention of the 
owner to make it a grand public watering place or seaside re- 
sort. Many improvements have already been made in this 
direction. The grounds are being surveyed and prepared for 
that purpose. Roads are laid out, and several new cottages in 
process of erection. The old Mansion House, which has been 
enlarged and fitted up for summer visitors, is well patronised 
at the present time. There is a fine shore and surf for bathing, 
not far distant, and on the island are several pure, fresh lakes 
or ponds, in which fresh-water fish, in great variety, abound. 
Miss Caulkins, in her history of New London, gives the fol- 
lowing account of the island : 

" This island had been a noted fishing ground of the Pe- 
quots; it was also a fine park for the huntsman, the woods 
that densely shaded the interior, being well stocked with deer, 
and other wild animals. In the days of Indian prosperity, 
it must have been a place of great resort, especially in the 
summer season. Canoes might be seen gliding over the 
waves, children sporting on the shore, women weaving mats 
on the grass, and hunters with bow and arrow plunging into 
the thickets. After the destruction of the Pequots, this fair 
island lay deserted, unclaimed, waiting for a possessor. Win- 
throp seized the favorable moment, and became the fortunate 
owner of one of the richest srems of the Sound." 

Girt with the rolling billows of the Altantic, on one hand, 

Where the sea-gulls swoop and soar, 
And the white surf beats the shore ; 
Where wild waves their fury fling. 
And the petrel dips his wing, 
Sportive, lithe, with arrowy feather, 
Jolliest bird in stormiest weather, 

and by thp quiet waters of Fisher's Island Sound, on the 
other, — in the words of our own poet Brainard, 

" That gentlest Sound 
Sequestered, tliat the sea has found 
In its adventurous roam, 
A halcyon surface — pure and deep, 
And placid as an infant's sleep, 
Cradled and rocked at home," 



21 

the surface of the Island is somewhat diversified with hill and 
plain; winding drives will preserve the contour of nature, and 
add to the picturesqeness of the scene. Some have facetiously 
said, that St. Patrick must have once resided here, as no snakes 
have ever been found on this Island. 

The air is pure, cooler in summer and warmer in winter, 
than on the main land, and instances of disease, requiring the 
services of a physician among its inhabitants, or even a com- 
mon cold, are almost unknown. This Island adds another 
attraction to New London, for excursionists, citizens or stran- 
gers, which seek to enjoy the exhilerating influence of the salt 
sea air. Steamboats are constantly running between the 
Island, Pequot House and New London, distance 7 or 8 miles. 

HOTELS. 

The Crocker House is a large first-class hotel, very popular, 
with all the modern appointments- It has not its superior in 
New England, and families residing in the city as well as 
transient guests find there the comforts of a pleasant home. 

The Metropolitan on Bank street is a five story brick build- 
ing with capacious rooms. A large addition is soon to be 
made to it. There are several other hotels and boarding- 
houses in the city, and some private families in which first- 
class board can be obtained, atfording accommodations for 
the throngs which resort to New London in the summer sea- 
son. 

Too much cannot be said in praise of the Pequot House, 
situated near the mouth of the Thames, with its numerous 
cottages for visitors, — of the private residences and tastefully 
ordered grounds which surround it, — of the clear open view 
of the river, of Fisher's Island and Long Island sounds, and of 
the sea, — of the facilities for boating, bathing, fishing, &c., — 
of its level drives along the shore and all its accompanying 
attractions, which have made this so famous and so favorite 
a spot to seekers of health and pleasure, to the transient guest, 
and to the many representatives of wealth, place and fashion, 
who from year to year, make this celebrated watering place 
their chief summer resort. 

The Edgcomb House, on the opposite side of the river, 



22 

though somewhat less pretentious, has a well deserved pop- 
ularity, and with the Ocean House, which is under the same 
management, affords accommodation for two hundred and 
fifty guests. The rooms are large, well ventilated and lighted 
with gas, and visitors find in the homelike aspects of the 
place an unfading charm. It is noted for its coolness. A 
short distance south of it, at Harbor View, some twenty cot- 
tages have been built in the past two years, where families 
from Norwich and elsewhere resort during the summer 
months to enjoy the sight and inhale the fresh breezes of the 
sea. 

Small steamboats are constantly plying between the hotels 
and the city, and passengers on the river enjoy the shifting 
panorama of its fine scenery. If the lover of art, and the 
beautiful in nature, on a clear, bright summer morning, cros- 
sing the mouth of the harbor, will lie upon his oars awhile 
and glance up the Thames as far as the eye can reach, he will 
behold a scene, which travellers tell us, is not surpassed by the 
beautiful bay of Rio de Janeiro, that of Yeddo, or the far 
famed classic bay of Naples. 

LAKE KONOMOC. 

In nothing, perhaps, is New London more fortunate than in 
the abundant supply of pure water from Lake Konomoc, at 
an elevation of 185 feet above the level of the sea. This lake 
is fed by springs. Trout are hatched in this water, a sure test 
of its purity. It ii> situated about six miles north-west of the 
city, and covers 200 acres of ground. Printing presses and 
other machinery in New London are now run by power 
derived from this source. It forms no incrustation upon the 
iron of steam boilers. Water from this lake is carried to 
and over every part of the city, for the use of dwellings, man- 
ufactures, steamboats and other vessels, and for the extin- 
guishment of fires. Streets, gardens, lawns, are watered by 
it, and sportive fountains to the sun fling showers of diamonds 
for his gifts of gold. 

GROTON MONUMENT. 

On Groton Heights, opposite the City of New London, 



23 

stands the monument raised in honor of the brave men who 
fell at Fort Griswold, on the memorable 6th of September, 
1 781. "Who commands this Fort?" safd the British officer on 
entering it. "I did but you do now," replied Col. Ledyard, 
raising and lowering his sword in token of submission, and 
advancing to present it to him. The ferocious officer, receiv- 
ed the sword and plunged it up to the hilt in its owners bosom, 
while his attendents rushing upon the falling hero dispatched 
him with their bayonets. This was a signal for the general 
slaughter which ensued. The town of New London was 
burned at the same time. 

Now the village of Groton, containing a thousand inhabi- 
tants, looks smilingly down from these historic hills, once 
stained with patriotic blood, from which is had a magnificent 
view of the City of New London, risen from its ashes, the river 
for several miles in extent, and in the distance, of Islands, and 
of vessels foreign and coast-wise, passing to and fro through 
the sound. 

In Groton is situated Whipple's Home School for Deaf 
Mutes, in which pupils are taught to speak by the system 
known as "articulation and lip reading." This school was 
founded by Jonathan Whipple, the first successful teacher ot 
the art, in the United States. 

OYSTERS. 

The water of the rivers and bays in the vicinity of New 
London, particularlv, Pequonnoc river, in the adjacent town 
of Groton, a mile or two east, are prolific in the growth of 
oysters of the finest quality, commanding the highest price of 
any in market. Between thirty and forty acres of ponds con- 
nected with this river, under the control of Mr. Thomas Fitch, 
are especially devoted to Oyster culture, and large prepara- 
tions are being made for the increase of this business. 

As a breeder of choice Jersey cattle, Mr. Fitch is well known 
throughout the country. The celebrated cows "Maggie Mitch- 
ell," "BufF" and "Palestine 3rd," noted for their large yield of 
butter, were bred by him. 



24 

GRANITE. 

From the quarries in Groton, the finest granite is obtained, 
and monuments worked from it, are sent to Ohio, Michigan, 
Illinois and other parts of the country. 

Granite from the celebrated Mill Stone quarry in Waterford, 
near New London, has been used in the construction of nearly 
every fort in the United States, and of many buildings, public 
and private. It has also been shipped to Mexico and else- 
where. There are other granite quarries in this vicinity. 

MARINE RAILWAYS. 

There are three establishments in New London, operating 
from three to five sets of ways, each. More than five hundred 
vessels are annually hauled up and repaired here. 

CHURCHES, SCHOOLS, &C. 

Many of the Church edifices of New London are among the 
finest and most costly in the State. There are three of granite, 
one of free-stone, and several of brick and wood, while its 
Schools may be said to compare favorably with those of other 
New England cities. 

Since 1853, the city has been lighted with gas. 

BANKS. 

There are four National Banks. The Union Bank, incor- 
porated in 1792, has a capital of ^300,000, the New London 
City National Bank, capital 8100,000, the Whaling Bank, cap- 
ital $150,000, and the National Bank of Commerce, capital 
$300,000. 

There are two Savings Banks, the Savings Bank of New 
London, incorporated in 1827, and having over $3,000,000 
deposits, and the Mariners Savings Bank, incorporated in 
1867, with more than $1,000,000 deposits. 

The Equitable Trust Company has a capital of one million, 
soon to be increased to one and a half million. 



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